Long lasting solid state relay
The KM-14T now has a solid state relay, which lasts far longer than a standard mechanical relay. The solid state relay has no moving parts to wear out. The first thing you will notice is that the solid state relay is silent. You will hear just the reassuring hum of elements. The solid state relay makes heating elements last longer and offers better temperature control during holds.
The KM-14T includes a mechanical relay as part of a safety circuit.
The adventure of knifemaking
Knives have always played a role in history. Explorers have carried them in covered wagons and space shuttles. At Paragon we are excited to be part of the knife making tradition. Introduced in 1986, the KM-14D was our first knife making furnace. We have now made that furnace available with the compact, more economically priced Sentry Xpress 3-key controller. (The KM-14T has the full 12-key Sentry controller or Sentinel Smart Touch.)
Test exotic heat treating formulas
When you own a Paragon KM-14T furnace, you can live the knife making adventure to the fullest. You will actually witness the birth of your knives in the bright red heat of the furnace.
Many knifemakers enjoy owning a furnace, because they can revel in testing their favorite steels. They put blades through tests more severe than any knife owner would dare. Yes, they test for Rockwell hardness, but they don’t stop there. They test the knife against hemp rope and 2x4s. How long will the blade remain sharp? They bend the blade to 45° or even 90°. Then they straighten the blade, slap on a handle and test it in the real world.
The knife maker with a KM-series furnace can try exotic heat treating methods at his leisure. Does quenching in dry ice improve blade performance? What happens when 52100 steel is triple-quenched with a one-day wait between each quench? After this treatment, will the blade bend to 90° without chipping?
With a Paragon furnace in your shop, all questions about heat treating formulas are finally settled. It is no longer only theory. You find out for yourself what works. Testing and heat treating are at the heart of the knife making adventure. Here is where your confidence as a knife maker takes root. Experiment with differential hardening, an ancient bladesmith technique. Try out the newest tool steels. Are they really as good as the tried and true D2 and A2? Paragon’s knifemaking furnaces are now rated to 2350 degrees F, so you can heat treat as hot as you need to.
Counter-weight door
The drop door opens downward with one-handed operation. A counter-weight handle holds the door securely closed. The door, whether drop or side-swing, is mounted on a heavy-duty 1/2” thick hinge shaft for smooth opening. Because of the rigid case and heavy hinge, the door is sturdy enough for years of faithful service.
Door safety switch
The door micro safety switch shuts off the power to the elements when the door is opened, yet the controller continues to give a temperature readout. The safety switch is standard on Paragon KM furnaces.
Choose from the optional paint colors
As shown in the photos, the standard knifemaking furnaces are painted a deep black, which would look perfect in your shop. You can choose a different paint color at no extra charge. (Choose from the paint colors listed below the furnace specifications. Scroll down.)
A message from Ed Fowler—explorer, author, and founder of High Endurance Performance Knife Association
“Paragon offered me no financial rewards or free equipment for this endorsement. I recommend Paragon furnaces only because they make an excellent, reliable product.
“I've made knives off and on since the sixth grade. I enjoy every second in the shop making knives. I used to harden and temper with a torch. As my skills increased, my testing of knives revealed the benefit of longer and more uniform soak times during the annealing and tempering cycles than were possible with a torch.
“I finally bought a Paragon furnace. It is extremely beneficial to bladesmithing, because it allows us to do things with our blades we couldn't do otherwise. If I had known how good they are, I would have bought one years before I did.
“You don't want to introduce any variables into your blades by accident, and temperature is one such variable. With a Paragon, you know exactly what causes what and why. My advice to beginning knifemakers is to use the best equipment you can as soon as you can add it to your shop. I wasted a lot of time and energy trying to make knives with less than the best equipment for the job. Invest in quality equipment, learn how to use it right, and use your time seeking the best knife you can make.
“Without my Paragon oven, I would have never made the discoveries about steel that I’ve made. I love my Paragon. That Paragon sure made a big difference in my knife making. Any experiment I want to run is right there. If I want to change a heat treatment, I know exactly how. With every knife, I learn more.
“Thermal cycles, commonly known as heat treating of blades, are the most significant single aspect contributing to the quality of a knifemaker’s blade. Knifemakers who wish to explore the absolute frontiers of the world of knives in search of the Excalibur of their dreams must have the ability to design thermal treatments specifically intended to push their steel to the highest limits of performance. Absolute control of the temperature of their blades is absolutely essential to success.
“Paragon makes a nice piece of equipment. I recommend it very highly to anyone who asks and to many people who don't ask. In order to make knives that my customers can depend upon, I have to be able to count on my equipment to provide consistent performance. My Paragon heat treating oven has always provided the degree of dependability I can count on to support my commitment to provide my customers the best functional knife possible.
“Believe me, I'm much richer knowing I'm making the best knife I can. I'm much happier with myself.”
A bond of trust between you and the knife owner
The knife maker’s credo is simple: to create a knife that represents the knife maker himself. For the knife maker, quality of work is a way of life. It is his or her passion. Anything less than one’s best is unthinkable.
The buyer of a custom knife appreciates fine detail. He or she marvels at the lines and curves the maker coaxed from the steel with such patience. There is a bond of trust between the owner of a fine knife and its maker. This is why the knife maker sleeps better when he or she controls every step in creating a knife.
The knife maker derives joy from creating knives that are not merely prized, but treasured. When the knife owner wipes a rag across such a knife, he or she is caressing as much as cleaning it. Part of this spirit of knife making is lost when you send the blade out for heat treating and await its return. Every time you, the maker, release one of your knives to the world, your reputation goes with it. This is why makers feel compelled to control every step in the blade’s journey from initial design through final polishing.
No more waiting for commercial heat treating
A Paragon KM-series furnace sets you, the knifemaker, free. No more wrapping blades and shipping them to your heat treater. No more waiting until you have a dozen blades to get the best price on heat treating. No more turning away orders for last-minute gifts.
While your furnace is hardening and tempering blades, you can busy yourself grinding more knives or fitting handles. After you’ve used your Paragon furnace awhile, you will wonder how you ever got along without it. When asked to make a knife on short notice—whether for a Marine Corps awards presentation, a soldier’s pre-deployment farewell sendoff, or an archaeologist on his way to Africa—you will be ready. When a custom knife is needed as a going away gift, and the recipient is leaving in three days, you will be ready. Your KM-series furnace might even pay for itself on rush orders you would otherwise have missed.
Own a furnace and you alone decide when you will complete a knife. If you stay up one Friday grinding a knife, you can heat treat it that evening and deliver it Saturday morning. Just in time for a grateful wife to present to her husband on his birthday.
Finishing a knife whenever you want will excite you. You will find yourself working into the night to complete a new design. On the other hand, when you send the blade out for heat treating, the excitement of making it is forgotten. By the time the blade returns, you hardly remember it.
The Sentry 12-key controller is faster to program and has more features than the lower priced
Solid furnace construction
The furnace is insulated with 3” thick refractory firebrick, which is 1/2” thicker than the standard. The elements are mounted in dropped, recessed grooves machined into the firebrick. This groove protects the element for long life and low maintenance. Elements are simple to replace because they can be lifted directly from the groove. You can replace elements following instructions in the printed manual. The firing chamber is protected by a rigid steel case. A built-in solid stand lifts the firing chamber safely off your worktable. The thermocouple wire is kept inside the control box for protection from the harsh environment of the typical bladesmith shop.
Printed instruction manuals
Your furnace includes a wiring diagram, a controller instruction manual, and a heat treating manual with heat treating instructions for D2, 440C, ATS 34 and 154 CM. The manuals are written in plain English for the beginner.
Made in America
All Paragon furnaces are made in Mesquite, Texas USA. We are proud to support the American worker.
Optional Gas Injection Flow Meter
During heat treating, scale forms on the surface of the steel. One way to eliminate most scaling is to wrap the blades in stainless steel foil. Another way is to install the Gas Injection Flow Meter on your furnace. It is available as either an add-on kit, or you can order the furnace with the meter factory-installed.
The meter regulates the flow of an inert gas, such as argon, inside the furnace. The gas displaces the oxygen to prevent most scaling.
Please remember that results with the flow meter vary depending on the type of inert gas you use and your level of experience. For more details, click on the link in the Options section below.
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Thermocouple with “special limit” wire
The thermocouple senses temperature inside the kiln. It is the small rod that extends into the firing chamber. The ¼” wide Type-K, 14-gauge, exposed-tip thermocouple is made with special-limit wire for superior accuracy. The exposed tip gives the controller a fast response time for even temperatures during holds. The thermocouple is made in America to our exacting standards.
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David Baker’s Paragon Furnace
“On the show, ‘Forged in Fire,’ we make weapons in a very compressed time frame. The Paragon furnace has been a game changer. It’s saved me an amazing amount of time,” said David Baker, a judge on the show.
“Not only is the kiln wonderful and reliable, but Paragon’s service is fantastic. You can get someone on the phone and they will walk you through the problem. While moving my kiln around, it got bumped into some camera equipment, and parts on the kiln got dinged up. Within a couple of days they shipped new parts to me, and I was back to work.
“If you’re making knives professionally, time is money,” said David. “If your hands aren’t working, you’re not making money. So having the ability to program a kiln, let it do its thing, and literally walk away and do other work is a game changer.”
“Bottom line,” said David Baker, “the Paragon kiln is a good, solid product that winds up saving me a lot of time.”
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Designed for production
Paragon’s warranty is not affected by frequency of use. Fire your new kiln every day if you want, even in commercial settings. That will have no effect on the warranty period.
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Optional colors at no extra charge
Brighten your studio with color! Order your kiln in one of our standard colors at no extra charge . . . berry, black, blue, hot pink, jade, navy, purple, or turquoise. Scroll down to see color samples in the options section.
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